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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26819518">In the Hands of Strangers</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/AeonTheDimensionalGirl/pseuds/AeonTheDimensionalGirl'>AeonTheDimensionalGirl</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ve Got You (You’re Safe Now) [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Merlin (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>(Like Seriously This is the Beginning of Leon Never Knowing Peace), Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Slavery, Big Brother Leon (Merlin), Canon Era, Deviates From Canon, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic Revealed, Merlin is a Little Shit (Merlin), Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, Protective Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Sad Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Scared Merlin (Merlin), Sir Leon The Long Suffering (Merlin), Whumptober 2020</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 10:01:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,533</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26819518</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/AeonTheDimensionalGirl/pseuds/AeonTheDimensionalGirl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Captured to become one of King Cenred’s slaves, Merlin manages to escape his kidnappers for the moment- Until he clashes with two Knights wearing Camelot’s colors.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Leon &amp; Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Merlin/Arthur, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon, Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>I’ve Got You (You’re Safe Now) [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1939345</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>47</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1406</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In the Hands of Strangers</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>PROMPT No 5. WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING?</b><br/><b>On the Run</b> | <b>Failed Escape</b> | <b>Rescue</b></p><p>Woo all three prompts this time!</p><p>Also special thanks to <b>NamelesslyNightlock</b> for help with the dialogue❤️</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Merlin was four and ten when they came for him.</p><p>It seemed to be that someone in Ealdor finally discovered him and gleefully decided to report him to King Cenred in order to get rid of the village bastard and freak, because the next thing Merlin knew, four Knights of Essetir were knocking down his mother’s door looking for him.</p><p>Not that Merlin went willingly, mind you.</p><p>Everyone knew what Cenred did to sorcerers. Put them in collars and chains, brand them as the propriety of the King and his will.</p><p>And Merlin had no intention of becoming one of Cenred’s slaves. He honestly feared what would the King do with his magic, especially if he found out how strange Merlin’s was.</p><p>So he fought; kicking, punching and screaming as the men tried to get their hands on him, his magic going on a whirlwind on the house-</p><p>And suddenly something heavy made impact on the back of his head, startling and distracting him long enough for one of the men to successfully pin him to the ground. Amiss the pain on his head, Merlin kept on squirming, trying to shake the man off-</p><p>“Keep fighting and she dies” a harsh whisper reached his ears. Merlin stilled, fearfully raising his head to stare at one of the men holding Hunith hostage with a dagger on her throat.</p><p>“Mother-” the raven croaked.</p><p>Not her.</p><p>He couldn’t lose his mother.</p><p>“Merlin-” she whispered with tears in her eyes, “It’s alright,<em> aderyn bach</em>- it’s alright, use your magic and ru-” but the man pressed the knife tighter onto her neck, giving Merlin a smirk.</p><p>His mother simply gave him a bittersweet smile.</p><p>Eyes stinging, Merlin opened his mouth to object-</p><p>Only to scream as he felt his wrists be encased onto cold manacles.</p><p>The raven felt as if he couldn’t breathe, a frigid hand enclosing itself on his throat, lungs, heart-</p><p>Merlin’s magic seemed to have vanished.</p><p>“He must be powerful if he is reacting like this” he faintly heard one of the men remark as he felt the ground disappear under his feet.</p><p>Oh, he was being lifted.</p><p>“Never seen a sorcerer act like this to cold iron” another one said while Merlin moaned in pain.</p><p>The chains felt like they were digging like needles onto his wrists, and no matter how little he tried to move, pain keep shooting on his body.</p><p>Numbly, he registered a woman screaming his name, and with a jolt, realized that it was his mother-</p><p>Merlin opened his eyes, horrified to see Hunith on the ground, clutching her face as blood fell down her nose and lip-</p><p>“MOTHER!” he screamed, ignoring the pain as he wiggled on his captors hold while they exited the house, the rest of the villagers just watching, “MOTHER!”</p><p>“MERLIN!”</p><p>Hunith ran out the house, running right behind them until one of the men came up to her and her hit her again, this time on the head.</p><p>She fell and didn’t get up.</p><p>“MAMA!” Merlin cried, hysterical as he watched his mother not moving, “MA-UMF”</p><p>“Gods, why are bastards such fucking screamers?” One of the men asked in annoyance as he tied up the rag he’d forced unto the raven.</p><p>“You’re complain now? You don’t say the same when you’re at the brothel” the one who was carrying Merlin laughed, before dropping him unto the ground.</p><p>Agonizing pain seized the boy up as he tried to remember how to breathe. He was barely aware of how the manacles were connected to a rope tied to the horses.</p><p>“MERLIN!”</p><p>Will!</p><p>“Oh, for fucks sake” the man who struck down Hunith groaned as Will ran towards them looking furious, holding his deceased father’s sword.</p><p>“Let him go you savage-!”</p><p>Merlin screamed through his gag as he witnessed a dagger fly through the air and implant itself on Will’s chest.</p><p>His best friend dropped to the ground, surprise being the last emotion to stay on his face.</p><p>His captors laughed before ordering the horses to begin walking, forcing Merlin to get up and walk to avoid being dragged on the floor, and to look away from the now unsettled villagers, his mother’s unconscious form and his best friend’s corpse.</p><p>Merlin didn’t stop crying until Ealdor disappeared from view and one of the men hit him with a horse whip, commanding him to shut up.</p><p>From then on his tears were silent.</p><hr/><p>In the end, it’s thanks to his namesake that he’s granted an opportunity to escape.</p><p>Merlin’s captors made camp not too far off Ealdor. They simply tied him up to a tree before completely ignoring him as they began cooking their supper.</p><p>The merlin falcon had been staring at him for a while, ever since a waterskin with stale-tasting water had been thrown in his direction; and for some reason (perhaps to humor his namesake), Merlin keep staring back.</p><p>“Are you hunting alone?” he asked softly to the falcon. The bird let out a cry that sounded like a yes.</p><p>“I’m alone too”</p><p>Another screech.</p><p>“I was taken away from my family, you?”</p><p>A knife embed itself a few inches away from the falcon, making the animal (and Merlin) cry out in alarm before it flew away.</p><p>“Stop talking to the bird” one of the men grunted in annoyance.</p><p>“He’s wasn’t doing anything” Merlin protested, feeling angry, “You didn’t have to do that!”</p><p>The man grunted again.</p><p>“Just shut up” he barked, “And if we caught you talking again, we’ll cut your tongue off”</p><p>“But won’t I need it if I am to become one of Cenred’s slaves?” Merlin asked, “Bit of an empty threat, don’t you think?”</p><p>He got a rock to the stomach for that.</p><p>“You think you’re funny boy?” the man who had threatened his mother hissed while Merlin gasped in pain, “You know what happens to slaves who think they’re funny?”</p><p>“We’re let go with a bag full of coin?” the raven muttered.</p><p>“They get whipped” the man said with a grin, “Over and over until the funny bone is no longer there”</p><p>“Well then, luckily I’m not a slave yet” Merlin coolly replied, trying to mask the pit of fear on his stomach.</p><p>The man spat at him before making his way back to the campfire.</p><p>Disgusted, Merlin wiped away the saliva to his best ability with the chains, but with the pain they kept shooting over his body he quickly gave up on it.</p><p>A small cry above him alerted him of his namesake’s presence and new hiding spot. The merlin was perched in what seemed to be an abandoned owl’s nest, and for a moment, Merlin swore that the bird of prey winked at him.</p><p><em>‘Wait’</em> he seemed to be telling him.</p><p>Nighttime settled in.</p><p>As his captors fell asleep one by one, Merlin’s thoughts drifted towards home, eyes stinging at the reminder of what had been left behind.</p><p>Would Will had gotten a funeral? Would he be buried on their favorite spot by the apple tree?</p><p>Would his mother be awake by now? Would she be crying, grieving her missing son and his fallen best friend? Merlin wondered if perhaps she would be holding the two neckerchiefs she had gifted him for his name-day this year.</p><p>He regretted not having put one of them on today. It would have been nice to hold on to her last gift, at least as a reminder that he’d been loved and cherished-</p><p>The falcon suddenly cried out, pulling him out of his morose thoughts.</p><p>Idly, he watched the merlin dive towards the knife buried on the tree, and- pulled it out.</p><p>Merlin gaped as his namesake subsequently dropped the knife between his legs.</p><p>For a moment he could only stare at the weapon dumbfolded, until his brain decided to kick into action.</p><p>Doing his best to avoid rattling the manacles of Endless Pain (as he oh so affectionately decided to call them), Merlin took hold of the knife and began cutting the rope that was keeping him bound to the tree.</p><p>Finally free, the raven hastily got up, doing his best to fight the sudden dizziness that nearly threatened to send him falling towards the ground-</p><p>And promptly tripped and stepped into a branch.</p><p>He swore under his breath. Of all the times to be clumsy-!</p><p>“OI!”</p><p>Merlin gasped, dropping the dagger in fear as the men woke up, looked over him and saw the rope cut, and straight away made to grab their weapons.</p><p>“HE’S ESCAPED!”</p><p>With his heart on his throat, Merlin sprinted towards the deepness of the wood, braving the darkness.</p><hr/><p>He ran the entire night, guided by the merlin and the moon, stumbling over small rocks, bushes and roots all the while; his body screaming in pain every time the manacles were rattled.</p><p>And yet, Merlin couldn’t afford to stop.</p><p>Every time he took a small stop to try and take a breather; he would hear his persecutors closing in on him and the chase would begin anew.</p><p>The worst thing is that Merlin had no idea where he was going. It shouldn’t be a good idea in the first place to be following a wild bird of prey, but something told the raven to trust his namesake.</p><p>So he kept running as dawn broke and the sun began illuminating the forest; pushing away branches and jumping over tree-roots as he desperately tried to win more ground-</p><p>The merlin let out a cry and disappeared from view, and before the boy could shout out in alarm-</p><p>“HEY-!”</p><p>Merlin crashed against something metallic.</p><p>No.</p><p>Not something.</p><p>Some<em>one.</em></p><p>He made eye contact with bright (yet stunned) sapphire eyes before quickly backing away in terror, having taken notice of the chainmail.</p><p>However- upon another look, this was a different Knight, accompanied by another one: One was visibly older with red-blond hair and a beard, looking astonished at the raven; while the other had hair as bright and gold as the sun, and who couldn’t be not much older than Merlin himself, perhaps by three years?</p><p>Oh, and he was lying in the floor, because he was the one Merlin crashed into-</p><p>And then, he noticed the capes.</p><p>
  <em>Red. </em>
</p><p>Red with a golden dragon stitched by the side.</p><p>“Camelot” Merlin whispered in horror as he backed further away in fear from the men.</p><p>Fuck- fucking gods-</p><p>“Hey, it’s alright, we mean no harm-” the older one started to say, raising his hands up in a clear attempt to show their peace.</p><p>Amongst his distress, distant, all-too familiar shouts reached Merlin’s ears.</p><p>Agitated, the raven looked back and forth between the Knights of Camelot and the unseen Knights of Essetir, and came to a decision.</p><p>Better to die than be a slave.</p><p>“Kill me” he begged the men.</p><p>“What?!” the blond knight- boy, he was as much as a boy as Merlin himself was- cried in shock, while his companion looked alarmed.</p><p>“Please!” he pleaded, falling to the ground on his knees.</p><p>“Listen, whatever it is, I’m sure it can be fixed-”</p><p>“I’M A SORCERER!” Merlin screamed as tears began falling down his eyes and the men jumped in shock, “Please, please you have to kill me, it’s the only way they’ll lea-”</p><p>A lasso of rope wrapped around his throat, cutting him off while dragging him backwards at the same time.</p><p>“Ah, good sirs, I see you’ve found our wayward slave” a horribly familiar voice called from behind as Merlin tried to regain his breath and not to fall into more panic.</p><p>“I’m no- no-ones s-slave!” he managed to spit with much venom as he could muster between gasps, “And you c-can tell that to- to Cenred!”</p><p>“Quiet, bastard”</p><p>“Enough!” the blond boy yelled in a surprising well-commanding voice.</p><p>One of the men of Essetir suddenly busted into maniacal laughter. </p><p>“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Prince Arthur of Camelot himself!” he kept on laughing as Merlin felt his face drown of what little color remained.</p><p>Fuck. Fuckity fuckity fuck!</p><p>“You’re on Essetir land, little Pendragon” another one of the men laughed, “You’re not allowed here, by King Cenred’s laws”</p><p>And- to Merlin’s absolute surprise, the Prince of Camelot smirked.</p><p>“Oh, I think you got this all wrong” he said coolly, sounding older than he should be, “<em>You</em> are on Camelot territory. You’re blundering buffoons and clearly blind since you managed to cross over Camelot’s borders apparently without even noticing. And I know you must not have noticed because only complete and utter <em>idiots </em>would come into Camelot uninvited and on purpose”</p><p>If Merlin had any doubts left that the blond was a Prince, <em>that</em> certainly cleared them all.</p><p>Who else could sound so charmingly condescending while insulting someone?</p><p>“We were chasing a runaway slave” one of the men hissed, “We have all right to be here”</p><p>“Well then, too bad slavery is not allowed in Camelot” the older, nameless Knight said, looking grim.</p><p>Merlin blinked, feeling bewildered at the Prince and his companion.</p><p>Were- were they <em>defending him</em>?!</p><p>“Neither is sorcery”</p><p>“I think I rather go to Camelot’s citadel than Essetir’s, actually” Merlin piped in, surprised at his steady voice, “Can I choose how to be executed?”</p><p>Was it him or did the Prince’s lips quivered upwards for a moment?</p><p>“Between the lesser of two evils I think forced labor is worse” Prince Arthur finally drawled in a seemingly bored tone. However, his hand had traveled down to his sword pommel.</p><p>“Well, the way we see it, little Prince” the leader spat as he drew his sword, “It’s four against two”</p><p>And Merlin found himself being dragged by the rope around his neck once again, his time out of the fight, whimpering in pain as the manacles were moved.</p><p>Fighting against the dizziness, the raven tried his best to pay attention towards the fight, but a sudden humming under his skin kept him unsteady.</p><p>The Knights of Camelot, despite being outnumbered, were good and managed quite well to hold up the fight.</p><p>But so were the Esseterian’s.</p><p>The humming got more intense, and Merlin briefly closed his eyes in an attempted to alleviate the sudden headache-</p><p>With a movement that Merlin quickly realized it was a dirty one, the older Knight had lost his sword to the man who had threatened his mother, while Prince Arthur barely avoided his throat being slid off as he was disarmed and thrown into the ground by the other two while the leader approached from behind, readying his blade and rising it above the Prince’s head-</p><p>The humming seized with a snap.</p><p>At the same time Merlin screamed.</p><p>“NO!”</p><p>And his magic, which was been running frenetic as it lay trapped by the cold iron, suddenly exploded in response.</p><p>The men from Essetir only managed to stare at him in panic before they were sent flying by a wave of golden light, crashing against the trees with a crack.</p><p>Heaving, blinking back the sudden dark spots in front of his eyes and feeling weak at the knees; Merlin only managed to lock eyes with an astonished Arthur Pendragon before everything went black.</p><hr/><p>Arthur watched with alarm how the boy collapsed onto the ground in a dead faint.</p><p>This is not, by any means, what he expected to happen when Leon revealed that he was taking him out on a hunting trip to cheer him up after the events of last month.</p><p><em>Not. </em><strong>At</strong><em>. <strong>All</strong></em>.</p><p>“Oh gods” Leon whispered by his side on the ground, looking at the landing spot of the Knights of Essetir.</p><p>Or rather, former.</p><p>The men lay unmoving on the ground with their eyes staring at the sky.</p><p>Arthur, shocked, numbly looked over to the unconscious boy.</p><p>A sorcerer had just saved his life.</p><p>A sorcerer had saved his life, <em>while wearing cold iron manacles</em>.</p><p>That was impossible.</p><p>And yet he did.</p><p>To save the Prince of Camelot.</p><p>With a bit of hesitation, Arthur approached the boy.</p><p>“Arthur-” Leon said warily.</p><p>“He saved us” the blond replied, turning to look at his companion for a brief moment, “The least we could do is help him in return”</p><p>“This is not what I meant when I said you needed to get out of the citadel after the events of last month” Leon said with a tired tone.</p><p>Arthur flinched.</p><p>“Well, I didn’t mean to lead a massacre against innocent people!” he lashed out before covering his mouth as the familiar shame filled him.</p><p>For a moment, he could only hear the screams and see the blood and the children and-</p><p>“And you believe helping this boy will be an atonement for your guilt?” Leon’s gentle voice snapped him out of it.</p><p>Arthur looked down at the pale boy.</p><p>He doesn’t think he’ll ever forget the look of fear the boy gave him and Leon when he seemed to notice that they were from Camelot.</p><p>He doesn’t think he’ll ever forget how the boy looked at him with grim determination and asked them to kill him, choosing death over chains.</p><p>He doesn’t think he’ll ever forget how the boy came to their defense.</p><p>“What if my father is wrong and magic is just a tool?” Arthur finally whispered, trembling as he kneeled next to the unconscious raven, feeling Leon’s gaze on him, “What have been their crimes? The Druids are peaceful people and my father sent me to kill them, simply telling me that I needed to get rid of a threat to Camelot. The woman who was beheaded a fortnight ago healed her daughter. The farmer who was hanged the week before that just wanted his crops to grow healthier”</p><p>He stared at Leon, who looked stunned.</p><p>“What if Camelot’s laws are not protecting anybody and instead hurting my people?”</p><p>His companion was silent for a moment.</p><p>“I think that it means that you have the makings of a great king, if you’re willing to accept that the man who raised you is wrong” he finally said, smiling at Arthur.</p><p>The Prince nearly sagged in relief.</p><p>“Search their bodies for the keys to the cold iron chains” he ordered, “I’ll try to see if I can rouse him”</p><p>And learn his name as well, he privately thought.</p><p>Arthur hadn’t know the boy for less than half a candle mark, but he had managed to intrigue him, in all honesty.</p><p>He’d been clearly scared and slightly suicidal, and yet hadn’t hesitated to snark at his captors.</p><p>The stranger didn’t seem to be moving at all, and honestly looked horrible. He was covered in sweat and scratches from running through the forest, his skin was a sickly pale grey, there was a tickle of blood coming down his nose.</p><p>Shaking, Arthur took out his dagger before placing it over the boy’s mouth-</p><p>Oh thank the gods, there was the condensation.</p><p>“Er-” he stammered, lightly tapping the raven’s cheek, “Hey, wake up”</p><p>The boy didn’t respond.</p><p>“Come on, you bumpkin” Arthur frowned, lifting the sorcerer to shake him.</p><p>Nothing.</p><p>Still frowning, Arthur quickly scanned the boy’s body, searching for any other injuries he might have missed, until his eyes came to stop at his chained wrists.</p><p>There were bruises and, strangely enough, dried blood. Inspecting further, Arthur gasped when he rolled up the tunic sleeve to reveal black veins coming from the manacles were connecting with the skin.</p><p>As if the cold iron was poisoning-</p><p>“Leon? Please tell you found the key to the chains. I think I know what’s wrong with him”</p><p>His companion grunted in response.</p><p>“Just a moment- got them!” and promptly threw them over to Arthur.</p><p>The moment the manacles came off, the boy began coughing, curling onto his side whimpering and dry-heaving.</p><p>Arthur, not really knowing what to do (as much as he hated to admit it) settled for awkwardly patting his shoulder, mumbling things likes “It’s alright, breathe” and “Let it out”, even offering his waterskin at one point for the boy to take.</p><p>Finally, the raven appeared to come down from the fit, blinking open hazy azure blue eyes that seemed to have little flecks of gold upon closer look.</p><p>Like stars twinkling on a dark night sky.</p><p>Arthur didn’t realize he was simply staring until the boy’s eyes lost their dizzy look and were replaced by confusion.</p><p>“Hello” the Prince decided that perhaps a proper introduction was the best to start.</p><p>“Wha-” the sorcerer coughed once again, looking around in an obvious state of uncertainty-</p><p>Only to suddenly pale further when his gaze settled on the fallen Knights.</p><p>Arthur quickly moved his body so the stranger no longer had to look at the dead bodies.</p><p>“I killed them?” the boy asked in a quiet, trembling voice.</p><p>“Yes” Arthur softly answered. It’s not that he could lie to spare the stranger’s feelings, it was fairly obvious that neither Arthur or Leon had killed them.</p><p>“I- I wanted them hurt. They hurt my mother. They killed my best friend” the raven revealed, looking horrified at himself, “I didn’t want to kill them” he whispered, turning to look at the Prince with fear, “… Are you going to kill me?” the sorcerer asked, tears breaming on his eyes.</p><p>“… By my father’s laws, I should” Arthur began to say carefully, feeling Leon’s gaze on him, “But I won’t, and neither will Sir Leon”</p><p>The stranger seemed to go into shock at the Prince’s admission. Leon took the opportunity to quietly approach them, tearing off pieces of his under tunic after he’s crouched next to Arthur.</p><p>“For his wrists” the Knight whispered in explanation.</p><p>Oh right, the boy was still hurt.</p><p>“What’s your name?” Arthur asked as he watched Leon begin attending to the wounds.</p><p>“…Merlin” the boy finally revealed, shaking himself out of his bewilderment.</p><p>
  <em>Merlin.</em>
</p><p>It suited him, Arthur thought.</p><p>A fair bird of prey who could be dangerous when it wished to be.</p><p>“Where are you from?”</p><p>“The village of Ealdor”</p><p>“That’s around the border, right?” Leon asked him. Merlin nodded shyly.</p><p>“Alright then!” Arthur exclaimed, “We’ll escort you there-”</p><p>“No!” Merlin curled away from them, frightened, “I can’t go back! I was reported by someone in the village, if they see me return they’ll just send word to Cenred and he’ll-”</p><p>“-Send more soldiers after you” Arthur finished for him, suddenly feeling stupid for even saying it. The poor boy would never know peace if Leon and him escorted him back home.</p><p>“Why don’t you just renounce the sorcery you studied, Merlin?” Leon suggested, “It will probably be difficult, but they’ll leave you alone”</p><p>The raven went quiet for a moment, hugging himself.</p><p>And Arthur had the sinking feeling Leon might have accidentally said something stupid as well.</p><p>“… I can’t” Merlin finally whispered, eyes bright, “I-” he shuddered, “I was born like this”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>Merlin gulped.</p><p>“I was born with magic. My mother says I was using it moments after she held me for the first time” he revealed, voice small, “She reached out as discreetly as she could for answers as for why I was born like this, but no-one provided them”</p><p>Both Knights exchanged a look of mystification.</p><p>“That’s- that’s impossible” Arthur finally stuttered.</p><p>“And yet here I am” Merlin said with misery, “No-one has trained or teached me, I just-” he wriggled his fingers for a moment before handling his wrists back to Leon’s reached to he could continue treating them, “It’s been getting harder to control ever since my last name-day”</p><p>Oh.</p><p>So, Merlin was obviously not safe in Essetir, as Cenred could dispatch a new group of Knights to look for him when he saw that this one had not come back with his supposed to be new slave.</p><p>But Camelot… Camelot wasn’t safe if Merlin couldn’t control his magic.</p><p>Arthur frowned, deep in thought.</p><p>There had to be someone who could have an inkling for Merlin’s situation-</p><p>“Gaius” he whispered in realization, turning to Leon, “He was a sorcerer before the Purge, and if my father is to be believed, he renounced it by his command” he explained, starting to get excited by the plan forming in his head, “Perhaps Gaius could help him, and at the same time, take Merlin in as an apprentice. You know he’s getting old”</p><p>“Did you say Gaius?” Merlin’s timid voice brought his attention back to him. Arthur felt his eyes widen in surprise at the boy’s question.</p><p>“You know him?”</p><p>“I- well, no” he admitted, hunching over himself, “But my mother has told me I have a grand uncle from her side of the family. They write to each other sometimes, and the messenger always heads towards and comes from Camelot” he bit his lip, “Is he a physician by any chance?”</p><p>Arthur could not believe it.</p><p>“Our court physician, as a matter of fact” he said, not believing their luck at the coincidence.</p><p>Leon groaned, hiding his face between his hands.</p><p>“This is madness” he said, running his fingers through his hair before looking back the Prince, “Arthur, Sire, you <em>do</em> realize you’re suggesting hiding a sorcerer right under your father’s nose?”</p><p>“Not to sound ungrateful, but I have to agree with Leon” Merlin said warily.</p><p>“Well, they do say the best hidden secrets are those hidden in plain sight” Arthur said confidently.</p><p>“My magic sometimes seems to have a mind of it’s own” Merlin deadpanned.</p><p>“Gaius will help you, I’m sure of it” the Prince insisted.</p><p>“And what if I’m still discovered?” the raven challenged, eyes bright, “What will you do?”</p><p>The Prince kept silent for a moment, avoiding Leon and Merlin’s stares.</p><p>“… I will take you away from Camelot and hide you until I am King” Arthur vowed, making direct eye contact with Merlin.</p><p>“You’re serious?” the sorcerer whispered with brimming hope in his eyes.</p><p>“I swear it with my life” the blond assured, handling his arm. After a slight hesitation, Merlin clasped it, smiling at him with teary eyes. Arthur returned it, before giving the raven a smirk.</p><p>“But I suppose you’ll never find out if you don’t come with us back to Camelot”</p><p>Merlin gaped at him for a moment before glaring. Leon simply sighed.</p><p>“Has anyone ever told you that you’re a prat?”</p><p>Now it was Arthur who gaped.</p><p>No one, not even Morgana, had ever talked to him like that.</p><p>Leon, on the other hand, made a choking sound.</p><p>“You can’t address me like that” was the Prince’s automatic response, and he internally cringed.</p><p>But instead of looking taken aback, Merlin smirked.</p><p>“Well then, has anyone ever told you that you’re a prat, my lord?” he asked again lowly, giving a mocking bow this time.</p><p>Oh.</p><p>
  <em>Oh gods.</em>
</p><p>“If you weren’t injured, I would be challenging you to a fight” Arthur said, feeling a wide smile slowly take over his face as he watched Merlin bark out a laugh.</p><p>“You do realize I would win it before you could blink, right?” the raven replied with mirth.</p><p>“Merlin, I could take you apart with one blow” the Prince drawled, a feeling of delight settling into his chest when the sorcerer smirked, azure eyes with hidden stars twinkling back in joy.</p><p>“I could take you apart with less than that”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p><em>Aderyn bach</em>= Welsh for 'Little bird'</p><p>Merlin and Hunith eventually reunite; she moves to Camelot soon after, to a village close to the citadel for Merlin to easily visit.</p><p>And, just in case you’re wondering about the merlin falcon. He’s destiny’s ex Machina😆</p></blockquote></div></div>
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